Islamic Reformist Movements in History: A SOCIOLOGY 1 Analysis

This essay provides a historical analysis of Islamic reformist movements, beginning with the impact of the Mongolian invasion on Islamic civilization and the subsequent need for rebuilding. It contrasts the conservative approach of Ibn Taymiyyah with the Ottoman Empire's fusion of Sufism and Turkish traditions. The essay examines Ibn Taymiyyah's call for a return to the Quran and Sunnah, as well as the Ottomans' rise to power, highlighting their strategic advantages in Anatolia and the Balkans. The analysis covers key historical events, figures, and the socio-political contexts that shaped these movements, offering a comprehensive understanding of the subject. The provided bibliography supports the research with relevant academic sources.

Running Head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
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Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY
ISLAMIC REFORMIST MOVEMENTS
During the Mongolian invasion in the 13th century, Rebirth became the death
experience of the Islamic civilization. It has been considered to be a great catastrophe that
was the culmination of the ling series of the foreign and domestic attacks resulted in millions
of deaths destruction and irrigation systems which are crucial for the agriculture, the ancient
cultural heritage of Mesopotamia along with Persia. It is also the failure of the Islamic unity,
and the cornerstone of the Muslim project. Under this strategic upheaval, the urgency can be
felt by the Muslims for understanding anything that went wrong and how that could be
rebuilt. There are two drastically different responses for this tragedy. It is a radically
conservative reaction that is championed by Ibn –Taymiyya.
He called for the return to the religious ways of Mohammad and his companions
along with a progressive and novel approach developed upon the fusion of the Sufism and
Turkish nomadic traditions. Out of this, a new empire was unfolded named as the Ottoman
Empire. In the history of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah is one of the most forceful theologians who
was also a member of the Pietist school which was founded by Ibn Hanbal . He sought for the
return to the Islamic religion to its roots. During the crisis period of the 1299 to 1303, when
the Mongol people attacked, Ibn- Taymiyyah led his resistance party having denounced the
suspect faith of the accomplices of the invaders. During such years, Ibn Taymiyyah was
quite involved in the intensive polemic activities. It was either against Lebanon or the Sufi
religious brotherhood. The Sufi school taught that creature and the creator are one.
Ibn –Taymiyyah desired the return of the sources of the muslim religion. He felt that
the Muslim religion has been altered too often and through the different religions. The
sources were primarily the Quran and the Sunnah. It revealed the writing along with the
prophetic tradition. The community consensus, as insisted by him had no value. Moreover,

2SOCIOLOGY
he claimed that it rested solely on the two sources., The traditionalism as described by him
never prevented him from analogical reasoning and the utility argument. It was considered to
be a large place on the condition that both of those rested on the objectives which gave the
revelation and tradition. Such a return to the sources would have permitted him to divide and
disunite the muslim community in order to regain the unity.
On the other hand, the Ottomans first gained their independence after the Rum
sultanate broke up. After that both the Anatolia and Balkans were an absolute mess. Anatolia
was completely divided into tons of feuding Ghazis . It became quite natural that the Ghazis
were going to subjugate others. Ottomans were completely advantageous in this. They were
considered to be one of the western most ghazis having the easiest access to the Balkans. It is
to be noted that most of the Balkan states were in complete decline. The crusade states were
losing their power over the Romans who were overextending themselves and leaving
Anatolia for grabs and Bulgaria was completely in the time of civil war. The conquest of the
1400s was highly different from the previous conquests. The Ottomans had the advantage of
troops and resources in the Middle east along with the central Europe. In a nutshell, it can be
said that they were highly lucky because they did not have any autocratic ruler and all their
enemies had that in the last part of the 1450s.

3SOCIOLOGY
Bibliography
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Oxford University Press.
Cleveland, W. L. (2018). A history of the modern Middle East. Routledge.
Coulson, N. (2017). A history of Islamic law. Routledge.
Iqbal, M., & Molyneux, P. (2016). Thirty years of Islamic banking: History, performance and
prospects. Springer.
Knysh, A. (2019). Sufism: A new history of Islamic mysticism. Princeton University Press.
Schmidtke, S. (Ed.). (2016). The Oxford handbook of Islamic theology. Oxford University
Press.